Namibia, in collaboration with the World Feeding Program, celebrated African School Feeding Day on March 1st.

The Ministry of Education, Art, and Culture allocated N$89 million in this year's budget, which is currently being debated in the National Assembly, towards the School Feeding Program.

The allocation, the ministry said in a statement, is to buy maize blend for about N$500 million worth of children in 1,500 schools countrywide.

The program is primarily aimed at providing food to vulnerable learners and those from food-insecure households.

To complement this program, the ministry, with the assistance of the World Food Programme, has developed the "Home-grown School Feeding Program" at 29 schools in seven regions.

The program, the ministry said, is meant to relieve acute hunger and malnutrition, enhance education outcomes, and increase enrollment and retention rates.

Through the Home-Grown School Feeding Program, balanced and diversified diets are made from food purchased from local smallholder farmers.

The purchases, the statement said, provide a predictable income for smallholder farmers and traders while also boosting agricultural production, thereby enhancing the local economy and reducing poverty.

The Ministry of Education and WFP have invested N$2.7 million in the program since its pilot in 2021.

Also, the ministry has allocated an additional $5 million in the current financial year to sustain the Home-Grown School Feeding Program.